The Elder Scrolls V: Dark Elves guide

Ah, the much maligned Dark Elves. Without a doubt the Dunmer are this author’s

personal favorite. All of their skills mesh nicely with my preferred play style –

They mix magic with stealth and, once you train your weapon skills, they can easily

fit into just about any role you so desire. The Ancestor ability is very useful as

well for any enemies who dare to get into melee range and the natural fire resistance

will help with some of the tougher enemies in the game.

If you’re going to use a Dunmer then pick what sort of weapon you’ll want to use

early on. They do best with light equipment so it’s suggested that you have a bow, a

one-handed light sword and a light shield. Early on, the bow is very helpful for

getting sneak attacks since you won’t be able to get close to enemies. So snipe them

and then deal with them via sword and shield. It is important that you plan out your

perk path though, since you don’t want to waste perks on bow abilities and then

never use them later on.

Their skills back up this kind of jack-of-all-trades approach. Alchemy provides

healing potions as well as poisons to weaken your foes, Alteration provides numerous

useful spells (Paralyze is notable) and Illusion can help protect you. Destruction

magic is kind of the odd man out since it’s not the most useful for stealth or

straight up fights, but as you get stronger spells later on this can become pretty

useful.

A Dunmer will have access to:

Starting Skills

Alchemy: 20, Alteration: 20, Destruction: 25, Illusion: 20, Light Armor: 20, Sneak:

20

Passive Abilities

Resist Fire – Your Dunmer has a 50% resistance to all forms of fire.

Activated Ability:

Ancestor’s Wrath – For 60 seconds all nearby enemies take 8 points of fire damage

per second.

Character Suggestions:

One of the good things you can do with a Dunmer is to make a spellcaster, swaddle him

in light armor and use Alteration and Illusion magic to protect yourself further. Put

a shield in one hand with an offensive spell in the other and fight smart. If you are

fighting a mage use lightning magic to drain his magicka or set fire to an oil patch

on the floor to burn enemies to death. Honestly, you don’t even need a weapon. It’s

also possible to favorite Paralyze and an offensive spell, paralyze an enemy and then

dual-wield Flames and burn them to cinders.

But as mentioned above, it is quite possible to literally play a character that does

a bit of everything. Your perks will be focused on your preferred weapons of choice,

but it’s quite possible to have a character that can sneak, cast spells and fight

pretty well.

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